States told to show vision

Resources Minister
Martin Ferguson
has called on the states to “take a long-term view" and back the federal government’s strategy for national planning of ports and transport infrastructure to facilitate exports and boost productivity.

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, Mr Ferguson warned that the states had to give priority to long-term planning for export corridors – ports and the roads and railways that link to them – rather than residential development.

Stepping up pressure for the states to back the government’s national ports strategy, Mr Ferguson said real progress had been made in attending to the infrastructure needs brought about by the mining boom.

But the strategy faces substantial opposition from some states and property developers.

The strategy “puts a lot of pressure on state and territory governments to take a long-term view so that you don’t crowd out transport corridors and ports through inappropriate planning, often of a residential nature," Mr Ferguson said.

The government is hoping the states will support the ports strategy through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

But it faces hurdles including opposition from states, especially Western Australia, which is pushing for greater financial assistance from the federal government.

Mr Ferguson praised the West Australian transport infrastructure built by mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto as the most efficient in the country and said he hoped the WA public-private partnership to expand port capacity to benefit smaller miners such as FMG and Atlas makes progress.

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In NSW, he and Infrastructure and Transport Minister
Anthony Albanese
worked with the state government to upgrade the Hunter rail corridor to fix bottlenecks.

He said the privatisation of QR National would result in new investment, greater productivity and changes in work practices to improve efficiency for exports.

“The partnership between the private sector, federal and state governments is now in a position for us to make gains through productivity, but unfortunately there has been a setback from the floods, which means we will have to work harder," Mr Ferguson said.

The national ports strategy, which was developed by Infrastructure Australia and the National Transport Commission requires port operators to publish 10- to 15-year master plans outlining expected growth in trade activity and a national data collection so that performance can be internationally benchmarked.

Mr Ferguson also signalled that Infrastructure Australia – the government’s adviser on national infrastructure projects – will help reshape priorities in the aftermath of the Queensland floods.

“Infrastructure Australia has a key role to play in making sure we make the right investment decisions with proper cost-benefit analysis," he said. “The long-term focus is important for lifting productivity." The national ports strategy “is not just about short-term requirements, it is about long-term vision", he said.